Shaft seal



June 17, 1952 A, KARLBERG 2,600,879

1 SHAFT SEAL Filed Dec. 17, 1949 fiat 156. 2.

42 INVENTOR. liar/p f. (M45086 BY MA z/WM ITI'ORAEX Patented June 17, 1952 7 siurr sirAL' amid- E;*Karlbergfihialgoflll. *aptiiwciqn neeembei- 17, m itfseriafho: T313302 1 'ating "with the shaft and pk-'ihirii'ig against a "tat nary sealing r-i'I-ig fajstri''dto the more of life-"housing from-Which the'shaft-exten'eis.

filial-t seals =-of the type above reresr'eu to iair'e wen the "art ana have come censitlerable commercial se aiming the -l'ast sew years. "rnes seals normali include afs'e'al ha" rig a nose i'nem'berencircling the s'l-iaft and agringmemben-one if-which is stationary a rd tue other iotatingwith the shaftso' that a fac'e sealing surface is provided between these two parts, spring mearfs beingusually provided to yieldingly frictionally engage the faces.

One of the principal .objectsfof the present intention is to provide a simple construction of shaft seals, with few parts and capable-of easy and simple installation or removal.

Another object-6f *the invention "is to provide an improved construction "ofi a flexible connection between the shaft and ee-a1 Iunit. whereby Wobble, whipping, vibrationv o'r other uneven rotatltiniki'f theshaft -will not. effect-"the dir'ewracegag-mg fatisof theabove parts will aways-be in perfect alignment.

Other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a compressor or similar device from which a shaft extends, a portion thereof being broken in section to show the installation of the shaft seal;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the seal unit and shaft with a dotted line position to show the operation of the flexible mounting therefor; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken generally on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the embodiment of the invention which I have chosen to illustrate and describe, I have shown a compressor housing l having a bracket member l2 secured to the side thereof by bolt eclaims, (o1. 2861l) member l. rue bracket 1 2 in-ay lfave a enamber f4 therein mommanieafingtti-fih "the interior of th 'eoinpress'er and a bea'fiih'g iioi tioh- 1 6 tvi'th- "stash ft lfl' is'rhoiinted for rotation. The b'r oket l 2 ay form -a housing having a bore 20 within which -theseali ng i lis mounted -theshaft [-8 liaviiig areaueee partie'n fl eitendin'g lihft ough.

The seal unit 22 may corn se tlie'cupsha'ped spii-ng' retainermt' which'be agaiiis't -the houlder 21 of the sha'ft 143, a cylindrical 28 and boiled oeiiipression spri ng Z5-"elisposed %etween the 's'pri'n'g retainer o'ne ena' sr tue ncus-ing zt. I I

The housing '28 may be --cylindrical as shown with a reduced r portibh 30 surroiinding the shaft -'2'4 "and' -p' vidd with a -'-seal 'face 32. I lirovid'e a fleiiible "resilieritcollar fnember ifl positioned ehousing flandheld' against removal by -a "hacking "member 36. Fhe backing member '36 ma -nave a peri nera1aedge '3 a fdrin'ed with an i-iiturried shoulder :40 which is "secured about the iitiula'r led'ge 42 of the :conamn. 'It also has a t "cred bore 44 extending therefrom to-a cSlindi ical bore 46 which permits thezhous i-ng assinbl-y to be 'tele'scoped over theshaf t 24. The collar '34 has an inner concentric ledge M8 with a bore '{50 thereth'rough of "a size smaller than the *shaft -so-the;t when the nnit -i's imoiinted upon a s'ha'f-t, the collar iprovides-a 'fiuid seal around the shaft and also a frictional drive so that th'eunit-rotates with-the shaft. As can be seen, tl-ie Sicle f-aces of '"the ledges and I8 rare both'in the 'sa'me vertical "plane on 'eachside of the -ledgeswith respect to "the "central "exist: the collar member. The end 29 of the housing 28 is curled or spun in to lock the collar and backing plate therein as. a unit.

It will be noted that the wall 52 between the circular ledges 42 and 48 is considerably narrower than the collar itself for the following purpose. When there is a wobble, a whipping or vibration in the shaft and the bearing nose 32 is rotating against the stationary sealing ring 54, the housing will remain in alignment with the sealing ring 54 even though the shaft wobbles or vibrates at an angle, the collar being flexible and resilient so that one portion of it will follow the movement of the shaft, the ledge 42 fastened in the housing always retaining its original position. In effect, the collar will flex about a central axis transverse to the shaft upon which it is mounted, the collar always returning to normal position with the concentric ledges aligned when the wobble or vibration ceases.

The stationary ring member 54 may be mounted in a disc-like flange member 56 formed of sheet metal and provided with a pocket 58 to receive a cup shaped compressible gasket 60. The ring member 54 may be frictionally retained in the cup member 60, and because of the fact that the cup member is compressible, the ring member is also mounted in a flexible mounting so that slight annular movement thereof may take place if necessary to always provide a line contact between the sealing faces of the ring member and the rotating nose portion 30 of the housing 28.

The ring member retaining flange 56 may be fastened in position at the end of bore 20 of the housing l2 by means of a face plate 62 which is fastened to th housing l2 by bolt members 64,

the face plate having a bore 66 through which the shaft 24 may extend.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have provided a fluid-tight mechanical seal constructed of a minimum of parts and in which both the stationary and the rotating seal members are flexibly mounted so that regardless of slight misalignment of the rotating shaft or vibration or whipping, the seal faces will always be in facial alignment, thereby insuring at all times a fluidtight seal for the housing. I

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the exact details shown, and I do not wish to limit myself in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A seal assembly for preventing flow of fluid along the surface of a horizontally disposed cylindrical shaft, comprising a cylindrically shaped housing having an enlarged bore therein and adapted to loosely encircle said shaft, said housing having a reduced annular end nose provided with a seal face extending therefrom and adapted to bear axially against an annular surface about said shaft, a resilient collar member mounted in the bore of said housing, on a central axis transverse to said shaft, said collar member being of generally cylindrical shape and defined by radially spaced concentric ledges, said ledges having side faces, said side faces being on both sides of the central axis of said collar member and in the same vertical plane, and a wall between said side faces connecting said concentric ledges, said wall being formed by inwardly dished annular surfaces symmetrically arranged on each side of said central axis, said outer ledge frictionally engaging the inner surface of the bore of said housing and said inner ledge having a bore therethrough of a size smaller than said shaft whereby the seal assembly may be mounted on said shaft, a backing plate having an axial bore for said shaft and a peripheral ledge adapted to bear against the side of said outer concentric ledge of said collar member, said backing plate forming the end wall of said housing member and spring means bearing against said backing plate for holding the end nose of said seal assembly against an annular surface in a sealing position.

2. A shaft seal assembly for preventing flow of fluid along the surface of a horizontally disposed cylindrical shaft comprising a cylindrical housing adapted to encircle the shaft with a reduced ring-shaped bearing nose at one end adapted to bear against an annular surface, spring means normally urging said seal assembly forward, said bearing nose being formed integral with said housing and a flexible collar in said housing for mounting the same upon the shaft, on a central axis transverse to said shaft, said collar member being of generally cylindrical shape and defined by radially spaced concentric ledges, said ledges having side faces, said side faces being on both sides of the central axis of said collar member and in the same vertical plane and a wall between said side faces connecting said concentric ledges, said wall being formed by inwardly dished annular surfaces symmetrically arranged on each side of said central axis, one of said ledges having an axial opening for mounting said seal assembly on said shaft and the other connected about its periphery to said housing.

ARVID E. KARLBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in-the file of this patent: v

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Septl, 193a 

